In one of the passages, he says: “A couple months ago I said goodbye to an old friend. She was a reliable, dependable member of the family for eight years — our 2004 blue sedan Saab, model 9-5. She was a Swede; a country that gave also gave us Pippi Longstocking, Ikea and ABBA. Over the years we owned three Saabs.

It also had personality. Saabs sport a unique hood medallion: a red lion wearing a crown that declares to the world, “This car is cool.” When my sons drove it, they personalized it, adorning it with a sticker that says, “Radiohead” — a band unfamiliar to me but one that probably gets heavy rotation on those satellite radio stations like Jam On, Alt Nation and Lithium.”